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A good design is one that the user doesn’t notice!
Isn’t it true that a bad design sticks out like a sore thumb? When someone visits a web site they don’t want the design of the web site to get in the way of their experience. The book Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug is a great book which offers suggestions on how to develop a web site that is user friendly. I have made an effort to follow many of his suggestions. Below is a list of some of the specific principles which I have implemented in the design of my web site:
- Tabbed navigation – tabs are a helpful way of indicating what page you are on.
- H1 & Titles – large titles help the user know what they should expect to find on the page.
- Clear Navigation – all links reflect the contents of the page.
- Breadcrumbs – help you know where you are and how to go back.
- White space – a powerful design element.
- Keep it simple – avoiding all "cool" overly complex features.
- A uniform design- Nothing makes the user more comfortable than a uniform look and feel.
My goal is for Topsearchdesign.com to be a web site that attracts potential web clients while providing a way for current clients to see their web site as its being built (i.e. a log-in portal to a subdomain). I hope that by following the above mentioned design principles; all visitors will enjoy their visit to my web site.
Furthermore I plan to implement the web accessibility guidelines provided by WebAIM's WCAG 2.0 Checklist. Doing so will insure that my site is user friendly to all users, even those with disabilities.